Where are the country's most expensive groceries? Florida ranks near the top in food costs

Where are the country’s most expensive groceries? Florida ranks near the top in food costs

Admin January 26, 2024

Miami has the most expensive grocery bills in the U.S., census survey says

The U.S. economy continues to grow, inflation has slowed, and the expected recession never happened.

But it can be really hard to remember that when you’re pushing your shopping cart down the aisle, looking at price tags.

Since the beginning of the pandemic Americans have seen food prices skyrocket from inflation, broken supply chains, rising gas prices, worker shortages and increased demand. Overall prices jumped nearly 17.5% from February 2020 to September 2023 while household products rose almost 24%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The surge is slowing. The average U.S. grocery store food price increase was just 1.3% in December 2023 over the previous year, according to the BLS, much better than the startling 13.5% increase from August 2022 to August 2023, but just because food prices aren’t getting higher as rapidly doesn’t mean they’re any easier to afford.

The average American household spends more than $1,000 per month on groceries, according to the Census Bureau’s Household pulse survey. But that number can change a lot depending on where you live and how many family members you’re feeding.

While the average U.S. family spends about $270 for groceries every week, families with kids tend to spend an average of $331, 41% more.

In Florida, that number goes even higher.

How much do Floridians spend on groceries?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, you can expect to spend an average of $287.27 a week on groceries in Florida, the fifth most expensive state in the nation after California, Nevada, Mississippi and Washington.

With children in the house, Floridians spend, on average, $341.40 a week.

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What are the most expensive states to buy groceries?

The West Coast and the South seemed to have the worst of it. California, Nevada and Washington topped the charts with Mississippi and Florida rounding out the top five.

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Which city has the most expensive groceries in the U.S.?

Here, Florida is No. 1.

The average household in Miami spends about $327 a week on groceries, according to an analysis from HelpAdvisor of the Census Bureau data. That’s about 14% higher than Florida’s statewide average, which is about 6% higher than the national average.

The cities with the highest average weekly grocery bills are:

Miami, Florida: $327.89
Houston, Texas: $302.65
Riverside, California: $300.50
San Francisco, California: $298.44
Los Angeles, California: $295.33
Seattle, Washington: $289.23
New York City, New York: $282.60
Dallas, Texas: $282.21
Chicago, Illinois: $278.91
Atlanta, Georgia: $277.54

How was the data collected?

Data comes from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, which asked respondents –18 and older – the average amount of money spent on food prepared and eaten at home. The data was measured between Oct. 18 and Oct. 30, 2023.

Sara Chernikoff, USA TODAY, contributed to this story.